SILENCE OVER BUGIS REMARK ‘DEAFENING’
Pakatan Harapan leaders must do the right thing, says Barisan man
THE silence from Pakatan Harapan leaders over the “Bugis” remark, which left Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad in the soup, is deafening.
Barisan Nasional strategic communications deputy director Eric See-To said not only had the Selangor royalty called for a sedition probe, but Indonesian Vice-President Jusuf Kalla had called for the former premier to apologise.
“Dr Mahathir continues to remain defiant and insist he had done nothing wrong. In his official letter to the Malaysian Ambassador to Indonesia, Dr Mahathir also accused Prime Minister (Datuk Seri) Najib (Razak) of paying a lot of money in dedak to others for them to play up this issue.”
See-To said in his controversial speech at the failed anti-kleptocracy rally on Oct 14, Dr Mahathir said these exact words: “Maybe because he (Najib) comes from the Bugis pirates. I don’t know how he got lost and ended up here in Malaysia, he should go back to Bugis.”
How this was an insult and why it was outrageous for Pakatan Harapan leaders to remain silent, See-To said, became clear once one changed the name as well as the ethnic group in Dr Mahathir’s statement:
“Maybe because he (Kit Siang or Eric) comes from the Chinese pirates. I don’t know how he got lost and ended up here in Malaysia, he should go back to China. Would DAP remain silent if Dr Mahathir had said these words?
“All hell would have broken loose and we would have been hearing about this for the next two general elections.”
See-To said for years, DAP had been up in arms whenever any individual called on the Chinese to return to China.
“But their hypocrisy and selective blindness prevented them from acknowledging the damage caused by Dr Mahathir’s racist speech.
“No ethnic group in Malaysia should ever be called pirates or should be asked to go back from where they come from.
“This is hate speech and Pakatan Harapan leaders must speak up or risk losing the moral right to call themselves antiracist.”
See-To said there was also no use for certain parties to divert this by claiming that Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi had done the same.
“DPM Zahid merely mentioned that Dr Mahathir had Indian origins. He did not call Indians pirates and neither did he ask anyone to balik India.
“Merely stating the fact that a person has Indian blood is not an insult to Indians. How is this a racist insult?” he asked.
See-To said Pakatan Harapan leaders must be brave and do the right thing.
“Pakatan Harapan leaders must condemn their chairman and call on him to apologise, or risk losing the right to claim or ever pretend that you are antiracist.”